— Says elites in Villa, govt houses are Nigeria’s problem
— Challenges Tinubu to public debate
By Henry Umoru
ABUJA — Presidential candidate of the Social Democratic Party, SDP, Prince Adewole Adebayo, has said four years is enough for a determined government to transform Nigeria, urging voters to reject what he described as the country’s “politics of comedy and clowning.”
Adebayo also identified what he described as the political elite occupying the Presidential Villa and state government houses as among the major problems confronting the country.
He said bad leadership had been Nigeria’s primary problem since 1999, arguing that a change of government through the 2027 general election could significantly reduce insecurity.
According to him, “It is the men in the Villa, government houses, that are the problem of Nigeria. We are promising that in four years we will defeat insecurity. When you use your vote in 2027 to change government, you have a chance of defeating 60 per cent of bandits.”
Adebayo spoke yesterday in Abuja while unveiling the SDP’s 2027–2031 policy document, titled “Farewell to Poverty and Insecurity.”
He described the document as the party’s blueprint for tackling Nigeria’s security, economic and infrastructure challenges.
The SDP candidate also challenged President Bola Tinubu to a public debate ahead of the 2027 presidential election, while questioning the utilisation of funds associated with the removal of petrol subsidy.
Adebayo accused the administration of failing to adequately account for funds he said were saved from subsidy removal and demanded explanations on spending on security, compressed natural gas, CNG, and electricity.
He said, “The first challenge is thrown to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu: come out of hiding. Come and debate.
“Anyone who wants to keep his job should be able to answer his bosses. Where have you been in the past four years? What have you been doing? Where is the money?
“Where is the money you saved from subsidies that never existed? Where are the trillions for security? Where is the CNG? Where is the electricity?”
Adebayo declared that “four years is enough for a determined leader to help his people,” insisting that an SDP administration would use its first term to fundamentally alter the country’s economic and security fortunes.
He urged Nigerians to scrutinise the party’s manifesto and hold it accountable to the promises contained in the document.
“We are trying to tell Nigerians that we are beyond sloganeering. We are saying to you: here is our farewell to poverty and insecurity.
“We have submitted our thesis to Nigerians. Mark us. Evaluate us. Contradict us,” he said.
On monetary policy, Adebayo criticised the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, alleging that it had failed to adequately protect the naira, promote productivity and create employment.
“The Central Bank of Nigeria is not protecting our currency. It is not creating productivity and employment. It has become a warehouse for thieves. We must kick the thieves out of the team,” he alleged.
He also alleged mismanagement of revenues from petroleum, solid minerals and taxation, describing public resources as being “stolen in broad daylight.”
On insecurity, Adebayo said an SDP government would combine military action with political, economic and social interventions to address what he described as the root causes of crime and insurgency.
He argued that government failure had contributed to insecurity and that changing the government through the ballot in 2027 would be a major step towards tackling banditry.
He said, “Since the majority of insecurity is caused by government failure, when you use your vote in 2027 to change the government, you have already gone 60 per cent of the way towards chasing away the bandits.”
On the economy, Adebayo pledged to promote national unity and tackle what he described as “internal colonialism,” which he said had encouraged ethnic, religious and regional divisions.
He also promised to expand electricity generation to 75,000 megawatts using Nigeria’s available resources.
Adebayo pledged to establish four functional public refineries and 36 modular refineries, while creating an enabling environment for private investors to establish additional refineries and export petroleum products.
He also proposed a review of petrol pricing, arguing that Nigerians should not be subjected to international fuel prices when wages remained far below international standards.
“That is why we calculated it and concluded that ₦200, at the current rate, is the price at which petrol can be sold without pushing the people further into poverty,” he said.
Adebayo said the SDP manifesto would focus on human development, dignity of citizenship and affordable infrastructure financed from Nigeria’s resources.
He lamented the decline in workers’ purchasing power, noting that previous generations were able to build houses and educate their children on incomes considerably lower than what many Nigerians require to survive today.
“We are 26 years late. We need to be in government now,” he said.
Earlier, SDP National Chairman, Prof. Sadiq Umar Gombe, said the manifesto was built around three interconnected pillars: security, productivity and prosperity.
Gombe said the party would secure lives and property while addressing the economic and social conditions that fuel crime, extremism and instability.
He said the SDP would strengthen the armed forces, police, intelligence agencies, border control and justice system, while deploying both kinetic and non-kinetic strategies against insecurity.
According to him, the party’s economic programme would promote self-reliance, productive employment, poverty reduction, balanced regional development and social inclusion.
“We do not believe that poverty should be managed in Nigeria. We believe poverty must be eliminated through production, employment, opportunity and responsible social protection,” Gombe said.
He also stressed the need for accountability in public office, saying citizens must be able to demand answers from their leaders.
“Accountability is not an inconvenience to governance. Accountability is governance itself,” he said.
Gombe said the SDP wanted to build a Nigeria where farmers could cultivate their land without fear, traders could transport their goods safely, businesses could invest with confidence and citizens could live, work, worship and travel without fear.
Also speaking, SDP vice-presidential candidate, Dr Usman Bugaje, said Nigeria’s fundamental problem was not a shortage of capable citizens but poor leadership.
Bugaje pointed to the achievements of Nigerians in the diaspora as evidence that the country had the human resources required to build a prosperous nation.
“If you look at Nigerians in the diaspora, they are doing very well. Go to any country and you will find Nigerian professionals performing at par with their counterparts. In many cases, they are excelling in their chosen fields.
“That tells us something very important: the problem is not the Nigerian people. The problem is leadership,” he said.
Bugaje described the manifesto as a commitment to Nigerians and a “living document” that would be refined through continued engagement with citizens.
He identified low agricultural productivity and high energy costs as major constraints to national development, saying Nigeria could significantly improve food production by adopting proven agricultural methods and developing value chains.
According to him, expensive energy affects virtually every sector, including transportation, agriculture and manufacturing.
“We know precisely where the problems are, and I think we will, with the support of Nigeria, address them,” he said.
Bugaje acknowledged that implementing the SDP agenda would face resistance from entrenched interests benefiting from the existing system.
“They are going to fight. But we shall fight. And we shall win. And we shall deliver, God willing,” he said.
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